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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22536478">What We Love</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/GlamAssKiddo/pseuds/GlamAssKiddo'>GlamAssKiddo</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, Poe POV, Poe kisses Finn instead of Rose, Star Wars: The Last Jedi Spoilers, slightly modifies the end of TLJ, we still Love and Stan Rose Tico in this house, will eventually be continued to include the plot of TROS</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 13:21:57</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,509</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22536478</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/GlamAssKiddo/pseuds/GlamAssKiddo</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Poe's had enough of sacrifices.</p><p>(or, Poe saves Finn during the battle of Crait and accidentally makes a confession in the aftermath)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Poe Dameron/Finn</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>55</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>What We Love</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“All right, making my final approach. Target in sight, guns are hot.”</p><p>“No! Pull off!”</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“The cannon is charged, it’s a suicide run! All craft, pull away!”</p><p>“No, I’m almost there!”</p><p>“<em>Retreat</em>, Finn, that’s an order!”</p><p>The remaining pilots turned around at Poe’s command, slashing red arcs across the snow-covered ground. Poe clutched the steering wheel, knuckles white and shoulders tense— he felt almost ashamed to pull away from a battle, but he knew he and his pilots were more useful alive at the base than as heroic martyrs. He’d had enough of sacrifices.</p><p>Dodging between blaster shots, he looked around and tried to count how many were still with him, soon realising someone was missing. He turned back in his seat and saw Finn’s speeder still heading straight for their target, small and feeble against the cannon. He listened as Rose pleaded for Finn to follow his orders, knowing she would fall on deaf ears: as Finn’s comm turned off in a huff of white noise, Poe turned around to follow him, catching a glimpse of Rose as she followed behind.</p><p>He saw yellow light envelop Finn as the cannon turned on, saw his speeder start to disintegrate under the heat. He pushed his own speeder past its limits trying to get beside Finn's, and as the old engines groaned beneath him, he could even see Finn’s face, the tense jaw and serene eyes of a man resolute in sacrificing himself.</p><p>Poe rammed his speeder into Finn’s as hard as he could.</p><p>He was thrown forwards as they collided, and upwards as they hit the ground with an ugly metallic screech. Poe’s world turned red, then white, then black.</p><p>“Poe?” He tried to pull himself back from the brink of unconsciousness. “Poe!” Finn’s shouts sounded distant, almost inaudible over the metallic ringing in Poe’s ears, but when his vision cleared Finn was all he could see, staring at him with shock and betrayal in his eyes.</p><p>“Why would you do that? I was almost there. Why would you stop me?”</p><p>“I saved you, dummy.” Poe shook his head. His own voice sounded distant and weak, but he hoped it still managed to convey the determination and passion swelling up in his chest. “That's how we're gonna win this war. Not by fighting what we hate, but saving what we love.”</p><p>If it was a confession, he’d barely realised it: the word “love” jumped to his lips so simply and fluently as if he'd said it to Finn a million times before (he <em>had</em>, whispering it at night and shouting it in his dreams: <em>love, love love</em>). The kiss, too, seemed just as natural and quick so that he barely registered the movement of Finn’s lips under his before collapsing back into darkness.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>“<em>Med pack! I need a med pack!</em>” For the following minutes, Poe could only see short flashes of what was happening: Finn holding him and whispering his name (and oh, the way he said it made Poe’s heart jump wildly in his chest), Rose rescuing the two of them from the wreck and taking them back to base, and the bunker’s giant metal doors reduced to a mass of twisted metal and fire, but Finn’s voice calling out for help helped clear his mind as medics swarmed around him. He felt a hand push a pill into his mouth but, knowing it was most likely a sedative, spat it out.</p><p>“Painkillers. Just give me painkillers.” He felt burning pain all throughout his legs and back, but he wasn’t gonna bail out on a battle because of a measly speeder crash. The medics tried to argue with him, but eventually gave up and handed him a different pill, which he swallowed before storming off deeper into the base, steps unsteady but determined. “Connix, how are our reinforcements?</p><p>The lieutenant looked up from her monitor with a dejected expression. “Our distress signal's been received at multiple points, but no response.”</p><p>Before Poe could reach her, Commander D’Acy grabbed him and forced him to sit down. As confident as she tried to appear, she couldn’t hide the shaking in her hands. “They've heard us, but no one's coming.”</p><p>The painkillers started working as he watched Leia sit down, strong enough that he couldn’t make out her words, but he could still feel the grief in her voice. He sat motionless as he felt a figure — probably Finn — sit down beside him and as another brushed past them and slowly crossed the room until they faced Leia. Poe couldn’t understand why everyone looked so shocked as the person talked with the general, but when they turned around he recognized, even in a blur, the features of the man they had all been waiting for ever since the Resistance first formed. Luke Skywalker had finally come.</p><p>Everyone watched in silence as Luke walked out into the snow on his own, watched as the First Order turned all their firepower against him, didn’t even act surprised when he appeared standing inside the clearing cloud of smoke, seemingly intact. A small crowd formed around the door, and Poe grasped at Finn’s arm, walked up to the front with his help. Finn swiped a binocular from a nearby technician when a ship landed in front of Luke.</p><p>“It's Kylo Ren.” </p><p>“Luke's facing him alone.” </p><p>“Well, we should help him. Let's go.”</p><p>“No, wait. Wait.” Poe tightened his grasp on Finn’s arm to keep him from rushing out, made a signal for everyone behind them to stay put. “He's doing this for a reason. He's stalling so we can escape.”</p><p>“Escape? He's one man against an army. We have to help him, we have to fight—”</p><p>“No, no, no, <em>we are the spark that’ll light the fire that will burn the First Order down</em>.” Adrenaline surged through him, giving strength to his words despite the injury and drug induced haziness. He heard Holdo’s words echoing above his, and her speech seemed to hollow then, as meek and passive as he believed her to be, but now her presence felt just as strong and real as Finn’s arm in his hand. He turned back to the rest of the Resistance, “Skywalker's doing this so we can survive, there's gotta be a way out of this mine. Hell, how did he get in here?”</p><p>“Sir,” C-3PO chimed up, “it is possible that a natural unmapped opening exists. But this facility is such a maze of endless tunnels…”</p><p>“Poe?” Rose called after him.</p><p>“...the odds of finding an exit are 15,428....”</p><p>“Shut up,” he snapped at the droid. “Rose, what is it?”</p><p>“Listen.” Poe only then realised how quiet the base had been since his return from the speeder crash. Rose gave him a pointed look. “Where'd the crystal critters go?”</p><p><em>Brilliant girl</em>. Poe looked beyond her, straining his eyes into the caves leading off the main hangar, caught a flash of silver as one of the creatures rounded a corner. “Follow me,” he commanded as he rushed down that opening, Finn and Rose running behind and holding him up when he almost fell down halfway through the room. He didn’t hear as Leia told the others to obey him.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>The Resistance, or what little was left of it, followed a stumbling, half knocked out Poe through the dark and twisting tunnels, their steps echoing off the cold walls. Poe felt weaker at every turn, and nearly collapsed when they reached the end of their path only to find it blocked off. He made a motion to rush forwards, to make a desperate attempt at digging through the rocks with his bare hands, but Finn held him back. Poe gave him a pleading look, too weak to even speak, but Finn wasn’t looking at him: the stones had begun to shake, and before their eyes, slowly floated up and spread apart. </p><p>Against the light from outside, he could see the silhouette of a girl.</p><p>Poe had no need for Force sensitivity— he could <em>see</em> the immense power she held, the rocks floating around her like constellations or planets around a star, the sweat on her face, her stance which made her seem so much bigger than she actually was. As she cleared off the rocks and set them down, Finn ran to her and wrapped her in a tight hug.</p><p>“Well, what are you waiting for? Into the <em>Falcon</em>!” Leia said, pointing at the ship behind the girl (“<em>this</em> is the famous Millennium Falcon?” Poe asked himself). Finn, the girl, Poe and Rose all stayed where they were while everybody else passed around them. After another minute of silence, Finn let her go and led her to where Rose was propping Poe up.</p><p>“Before we leave, I want you to meet my friends.”</p><p>The girl smiled at them, and her smile filled Poe with hope.</p><p>“I’m Poe.”</p><p>“Rey.”</p><p>“I know,” he smiled at her. His legs finally gave out under him, and he finally passed out into Finn’s arms, hope still written all over his face.</p>
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